Malda police nabbed 11 members of an all-woman gang of pickpockets from the Ramkeli Fair area of the district on Sunday night.

Among those arrested, seven women are from Jamtara district of neighbouring Jharkhand and one is from Bihar. The rest of the women are from Bengal. They are aged between 19 and 45, but most members are in their 20s.

Every year, a massive fair is held at Ramkeli, a site on the outskirts of the district headquarters, to mark the visit of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Malda. Thousands of devotees visit the fair from across the state, neighbouring states and even Nepal.

“We had information that women pickpockets have reached Ramkeli to target visitors to the ongoing fair. Accordingly, we reached the location yesterday night (Sunday) and managed to arrest all members of the gang,” said a senior police officer.

Along with the seven women from Jamtara, a district which has made headlines in recent years as a hub of cybercrime, four others — two from Malda and one each from Bihar and Burdwan in Bengal — were also taken into custody.

“Our officers are trying to gather more information about the gang. Also, vigilance has been increased in the area so that the fair does not see any more crime,” the officer added.

This year, the historic fair — which has been an annual event for 511 years now — started on June 14. It will go on till June 17.